Industry watchers see this move as another sign that Arora is being groomed for the corner office at SoftBank, the Tokyo-headquartered telecommunications and internet conglomerate.

"Along with his global and wide knowledge, Nikesh Arora has deep insight into the internet business. We will bring him on board in order to maximise the value of our company," the release said. SoftBank currently holds 43 per cent stake in Yahoo Japan.

Earlier this month, 46-year-old Arora was named SoftBank's president.

"Yes, he's 10 years younger than me, and he has more abilities than me," Son had told reporters then, when asked if Arora was a potential candidate to succeed him.

Arora had joined SoftBank in 2014 from Google, were he served as senior vice president and chief business officer.

With positions in Ola Cabs, Housing.com and Snapdeal, SoftBank is among the top investors in India's burgeoning e-commerce space. Last year, SoftBank said it will invest about $10 billion (over Rs 60,000 crore) in the country's IT and communications sector.